The Honorable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, today announced temporary changes to the Atlantic Bubble travel protocol.

Effective 12:01 am on Wednesday, November 25, people arriving in Newfoundland and Labrador from within the Atlantic Bubble will be required to self-isolate for 14 days.

Atlantic Bubble travelers will not have to apply for a travel exemption at this time. If anyone within that group has extenuating circumstances making the 14 days of self-isolation impossible, there will be an option to apply for testing to possibly shorten it. Details of this application process will be rolled out over the next few days.

Updates on these temporary changes related to the Atlantic Bubble will be provided in two weeks.

Non-essential travel outside of Newfoundland and Labrador is not recommended at this time.

For more details and updates on COVID-19, please visit www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19.

Tune into today’s Labrador Memories when we air the audio from the live announcement that happened today.

The SmartICE crew are busy producing the Smart BUOYS to get ready for the winter.

Rex Holwell Jr. is the Northern Production Lead.

Right now, Holwell is working with one youth to produce the buoys where the other youth had to do another program.

So far, they have made two SmartBUOYS out of six, while in the process of making one.

Holwell says they recently have received funding coming from the federal Government of $675,000.

Stay tuned to AtjiKangitut today to hear more updates with SmartICE coming from Holwell.

Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe today extended his heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of former Labrador Inuit Association (LIA) President and Ordinary Member for Nain, William Barbour, who passed away at his home yesterday.

“William was very passionate about protecting Inuit rights, including those to lands and resources, and in promoting and preserving our language, customs and traditions. He always put the rights of Labrador Inuit ahead of all things.” says President Lampe.

“During the course of his career, as an elected official and as public servant, William’s intelligence, integrity, sense of humour and humility earned him much respect in the Inuit circumpolar world as well as with his own people.”

Born in Nain in 1959, Mr. Barbour grew up as a hunter and fisherman with his father and other elders. He was sent away from Nain to go to residential school in North West River when he was 14 years old before attending Grenfell College in Corner Brook, NL to continue his studies.

He spent many years working with LIA, including serving as Special Assistant to the President. He also worked as a Wildlife Technician, where he was instrumental in developing a project that used Western science to collar polar bears in northern Labrador to prove the existence of denning bears in the region – something that Inuit already knew. Using science to confirm Inuit Knowledge resulted in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to lifting the prohibition on the hunting of polar bears by Inuit. He had a measured and insightful way of solving problems.

Mr. Barbour was elected as President of the LIA in 1994. During his nine-year tenure, he was integral in the completion and signing of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement-in-Principle, which led to a final Agreement. He was instrumental during the negotiation of the Impacts and Benefits Agreement (IBA) between the LIA and the Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company. This IBA is now being used as a model for Indigenous partnerships across North America and other parts of the world.

Following his term as LIA president, Mr. Barbour continued to work for Inuit and was elected to the first Nunatsiavut Assembly as an Ordinary Member for Nain. He was subsequently appointed as the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, a position he held until the spring of 2009. He was re-elected in May 2010 for another four-year term. In 2014 he was hired to work as an interpreter/translator for the Nunatsiavut Government.

The Nunatsiavut Group of Companies paid tribute to William Barbour, former President of the Labrador Inuit Association and Ordinary Member for Nain in the Nunatsiavut Assembly yesterday.

Mr. Barbour passed away Wednesday, November 18th, 2020.

“William Barbour was a pioneer for Labrador Inuit and a builder for Nunatsiavut,” said NGC President and CEO Chris Webb. “He was instrumental in negotiating the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement. His contribution will benefit Nunatsiavut and Beneficiaries for decades to come.”

NGC Chief Operating Officer Sarah Leo served as President of Nunatsiavut at the same time Barbour served as Ordinary Member for Nain. “William was a great and brilliant man,” she said. “He was so involved, dedicated, and committed to making sure that Labrador Inuit got the best possible land claims agreement. He was a fierce negotiator and he stood on his belief that we had to have the best agreement for the people of Nunatsiavut. He looked after the interests of Labrador Inuit and Inuit in general.”

NGC extends condolences to William’s wife, Doreen, and their family.

Today (Friday, November 20), Newfoundland and Labrador has three new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The first new confirmed case is a female in the Eastern Health region over 70 years of age. The individual, a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador, is a close contact of the first case announced on Wednesday, November 18. The individual is a tenant of Blue Crest Cottages in Grand Bank. This means Public Health has identified five cases of COVID-19 in Grand Bank this week. All five cases are connected.

The individual is self-isolating. Contact tracing by Public Health officials is underway. Anyone considered a close contact has been advised to quarantine.

The second new confirmed case is a female in the Western Health region between 40-49 years of age. The individual is a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador. The source of the infection is under investigation by Public Health. An update on this case will be provided as more information becomes available.

The individual is self-isolating. Contact tracing by Public Health officials is underway. Anyone considered a close contact has been advised to quarantine.

The third new confirmed case is a male in the Eastern Health region between 20-29 years of age. The case is travel-related. The individual, a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador, returned to the province from Nova Scotia.

The individual is self-isolating. Contact tracing by Public Health officials is underway. Anyone considered a close contact has been advised to quarantine.

The province has 13 active cases. Two people are in hospital due to the virus. Two hundred and ninety-four people have recovered. To date, 58,330 people have been tested.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a robust contact tracing process. The process has been successful in quickly identifying cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are 171 contract tracers in the four regional health authorities. The contact tracing resources within the regional health authorities are well-positioned to meet current demand.

For the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19, please visit: www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19.

Premier Furey Offers Condolences to Friends and Family of William Barbour.

The Honorable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, is expressing his deepest sympathies to the friends and family of William Barbour.

Mr. Barbour was a long-time president of the Labrador Inuit Association and played a key role in negotiating a land claims and self-government agreement.

He was also an integral part of the first Nunatsiavut Assembly.

He held an unwavering commitment in ensuring the rights and culture of Labrador Inuit were protected, and his legacy lives on.

This is a time of great sorrow for his friends and family.

He will be missed.

To honor Mr. Barbour’s life and legacy, flags have been lowered to half-mast at Confederation Building in St. John’s.

The moose meat that was harvested in Gros Morne will be processed and vacuum sealed by next week on Monday.

Todd Broomfield is the Director of Renewable Resources for NG.

He says they should have the processed moose meat ready to be shipped to Goose Bay from there.

Broomfield says if they can’t catch or if there’s no space on the Kamutik W, the meat will be shipped by air.

Stay tuned to AtjiKangitut today to hear Broomfield give more details.

NunaKatiget Inuit Community Corporation is offering a Master Apprentice program. They are looking for one apprentice from Happy Valley-Goose Bay or Mud Lake.

Goal: to have a non-fluent speaker learn Inuttitut from a Master.

And will engage in daily activities with each other from Monday to Friday for 15 to 20 hours/week for 6 months. It will be beneficial if the apprentice has some basic knowledge of Inuttitut.

If you have any questions you can call Patricia Kemuksigak at 896-7352.

If you feel that you will be fully committed to this program and is eager to learn Inuttitut, please apply in writing by email:

Patricia Kemuksigak, Chairperson
NunaKatiget Inuit Community Corporation
Email: patricia.kemutsigak@nunatsiavut.com.

Deadline is Friday, November 27, 2020 at 4pm.

Today is a big day for Daffodil Pace, the home-away-from home for cancer patients who have to be St. John’s for treatment.

Expenses are up and revenue is down at the facility, which mainly requires $700,000 a year to operate. Because of COVID-19 it will cost $775,000 this year.

Al Pelley, the Executive Director of Daffodil Place says they had to drop all fundraising efforts but are going ahead with today’s radiothon on VOCM. However the initiative will be a little different this year because of COVID-19.

Greg Smith will be broadcasting throughout the day about Daffodil Place, which provides cancer patients with a comfortable place to stay three square meals a day and transportation to and from appointments.

While the fundraising stopped, cancer did not. All in-person events such as the daffodil flower sale, relay for life, and youth relay were suspended.

The 24 hour One Night Stand against Cancer is on.

Donate by phone 1-844-229-0146.

Fuel prices are up across the board this morning.

The price of gas in the province has increased by 0.3 cents while diesel is up by exactly one cent.

Furnace oil has increased by 0.62 of a cent, while stove oil has gone up 1.27 cents.

The price of propane has also increased by a fraction of a cent (0.2).